NONI - The Hawaiian Magic Fruit

Research has shown that prolonged exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays suppresses the immune system. Considering increased UV exposure due to loss of ozone, Noni may be valuable against intensifying danger of skin cancer. Noni not only appears to stimulate the immune system, it also contains selenium which significantly reduces the risk for developing skin cancer.

In the Honolulu Star Bulletin, Dr. Abbott was quoted as saying, "People are crazy about this plant. They use it for diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and many other illnesses."

Former University of Hawaii researcher Dr. Ralph M. Heinicke believes that other ailments possibly helped by Noni are menstrual cramps, arthritis, sprains, injuries, mental depression, senility, poor digestion, arteriosclerosis, blood pressure problems, drug addiction, and pain.

A report from Cancer Letters claims that Noni turned cancer cells back into normal cells!

 Xeronine is a relatively small alkaloid that is physiologically active in the picogram range. (Editorial note: a picogram is one trillionth of a gram.) It occurs in practically all healthy cells of plants, animals and microorganisms. However, the amount of free alkaloid is minute, and is well below the limits of normal chemical analytical techniques.

 Even though Noni fruits have a negligible amount of free xeronine, they contain appreciable amounts of the precursor of xeronine. This precursor, which I have named "proxeronine", is a strange molecule. The molecular weight is relatively large, namely about 16,000. In contrast to most plant colloids, this colloid contains neither sugars, nor amino acids, nor nucleic acids. Thus most biochemists have overlooked this relatively abundant molecule which occurs in most tissues.

 Noni fruits also contain the inactive form of the enzyme that releases xeronine from proxeronine. Unless this pro-enzyme becomes properly activated, however, Noni juice will cause few pharmacological reactions. Fortunately, if Noni juice is taken on an empty stomach, the critical pro-enzyme escapes digestion in the stomach and enters the intestines. Here the chances are high that it may become activated.

 Many years of research are still required to demonstrate convincingly how xeronine functions at the molecular level in a cell. In the meantime I can suggest certain hypotheses which can act as a guide in planning experiments. I am basing these hypotheses both on clinical results with bromelain pills as well as on a limited number of laboratory and animal experiments carried out with pure xeronine.

 I am proposing that the primary function of xeronine is to regulate the rigidity and shape of specific proteins. Since these proteins have different functions, we have the usual clinical situation where administering one simple drug causes an unbelievably wide range of physiological responses.

 The action which xeronine has on a person depends upon which of his tissues has a suboptimal level of xeronine. Thus xeronine can alleviate certain subsets of almost any known disease. For no disease, however, will xeronine be a panacea. A physiological disease, for example senility, may be caused by a deficiency or imbalance of a number of different biochemicals as well as by malfunctioning blood vessels, hormone systems, or immune bodies. Only if the disease is specifically caused by a lack of xeronine will xeronine alleviate the symptoms of the problem.

 I believe that each tissue has cells which contain proteins, which in turn have receptor sites for the absorption of xeronine. Certain of these proteins are the inert forms of enzymes which require absorbed xeronine to become active. Thus xeronine, by converting the body's procollagenase system into a specific protease, quickly and safely removes the dead tissue from burns. It is for this reason that aloes, bromelain and Noni are such effective treatments for burns. Other proteins become potential receptor sites for hormones after they react with xeronine. Thus the action of ginseng, bromelain and Noni in making a person feel well is probably caused by xeronine converting certain brain receptor proteins into active sites for the absorption of the endorphin, the well being hormones. Other proteins form pores through membranes in the intestines, the blood vessels, and other body organs. Absorbing xeronine on these proteins changes the shape of the pores and thus affects the passage of molecules through the memanes. Thus the action of bromelain, Noni, and ginseng in improving digestion may be ascribable to this action. These are just a few of the many exciting actions of this newly discovered alkaloid. Since Noni is a potential source of this alkaloid, Noni juice can be a valuable herbal remedy.

 There are some practical problems, however, in using Noni juice as a medicine or tonic. If one is dying and all other remedies have failed, then and only then will the average person drink Noni juice. The flavor of juice made from ripe Hawaiian Noni is terrible. None of my colleagues would touch the untreated juice. Even after I had removed most of the disagreeable flavor (several organic acids) from the juice, my colleagues still found it unfit to drink. For a price, the odoriferous chemicals can be removed from the Hawaiian variety. However, other varieties grown in other Pacific Islands are milder in flavor.

 Another critical problem in using Noni juice as a medicine or health tonic is timing. If the juice is drunk on a full stomach, it will have very little beneficial action. The pepsin and acid in the stomach will destroy the enzyme that liberates xeronine. For a seriously sick person, taking the juice on an empty stomach rarely poses a problem because the patient is too sick to want to eat anything. However, for the average person who wants to drink Noni juice as a health tonic, timing is critical. I would recommend taking 100 ml of Noni juice a half-hour before breakfast. At this time the juice will pass rapidly through the stomach and into the intestines, where it may be converted into the active enzyme. At any other time of the day, especially at meal times, the primary effects of drinking Noni juice will be psychological and caloric. Because of the strong flavor, the psychological effect might not necessarily be positive! To obtain the maximum effect of the active ingredient in Noni, I would recommend also that Noni juice not be taken with coffee, tobacco or alcohol. At times the combination of these materials and Noni can give some unexpected side effects. At other times the combination merely lowers the potentially beneficial effect of xeronine.

 Although the Hawaiians recommended both green fruit and ripe fruit for treating various ailments, my personal recommendation would be to use only the green fruit. The green fruit has more of the potentially valuable components and less of the undesirable flavor. In light of the new information on the action of xeronine, what are some of the possible applications of Noni juice? First I should make the caveat that for all of the possible applications which I am listing, one must always add the phrase "some types but not other types." Some of the problems which drinking Noni juice might favorable affect are: high blood pressure, menstrual cramps, arthritis, gastric ulcers, sprains, injuries, mental depression, senility, poor digestion, atherosclerosis, blood vessel problems, addiction, relief for pain and many others. Although this list looks like a page torn out of traveling medicine man's manual, it is probably conservative.